“I really didn’t want to paint anything from the Euros, even though some of the boys – Wayne Hennessey, Joe Ledley – were asking me to,” remembered the gloveman who plies his club trade for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Premiership.

“Coming back, I thought you know what, Wales have created history by being in France, getting as far as the semi-finals and being knocked out by the winners, Portugal.

“I was sitting at home and thought I would paint that moment, capture that piece of history as a painting.

“It’s something that means an awful lot to me because I did have the blues coming back from France. It was just such a fantastic time for everyone.”

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The 29-year-old, from Penygroes, near Caernarfon, who is also a dab hand on the guitar and who serenaded other members of the squad during their time off, says his aim was to record in paint a concept which has united a nation – Together Stronger.

And that was an all-encompassing slogan which was adopted not only by those who starred in red but all other parts of the Wales setup, from manager Chris Coleman to psychologist Ian Mitchell, kitman Dai Griffiths and a host of others.

“By having all those guys there I have tried to portray the actual slogan of Together Stronger,” Williams said.

“These people are all there and what they can do for the team is remarkable. Sometimes it might go unnoticed, but we can’t praise them highly enough. So it’s nice to be able to put them on the canvas.

“Leading up to the Euros, no matter where you turned, it was all ‘Together Stronger’. It was plastered everywhere.

“It could have been a cheap slogan but it wasn’t at all – it was what actually happened. There was such a bond between each and every one of us.”

Because he has painted friends and colleagues he has also been meticulous to include every detail of those with whom he shared the summer.

He added: “The planning took ages, because I wanted to get everyone to scale and to cram people in. I started in August and have spent hours and hours on it.”

Many of his previous works depict quarrymen – a job carried out by his grandfather – which reflects his love of Welsh history. This is the first time he has branched out into painting a scene from the sport at which he excels.

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“This will probably reach a wider audience in some ways, because it’s for everyone – if you were out in France, watching in the pub or in the fanzones,” he added. “Everyone has got a memory of that fantastic summer.”

Williams will present the main canvas to the National Library in Aberystwyth in March, where it will be on display for a year. Prints will be sold off to raise money for good causes. He plans to raise money on behalf of Ysbyty Gwynedd, where he was treated as a young boy, before being transferred to Liverpool’s Alder Hey when he fell seriously ill.

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And he will also produce prints for all the squad and members of staff who want one, a further indication of how close-knit the entire Wales setup is.

Williams did not play during the tournament and has a single Wales cap to his name despite having been part of international squads for more than seven years.

But he gives the sense, as a fiercely proud Welshman and a football fan, of being simply happy to have been a part of a historic moment for sport in Wales.

“It was amazing,” he added. “I think any Welsh person would have jumped at that. It had been a long season but we had to keep going – and wow what an experience it was, to be able to train every day with some of the players we have and to be looked after the way we were.

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“It wasn’t like club football, or even like a normal international game. We had three games to put our stamp on the tournament or else we would be going home. So it wasn’t a holiday by any means.”

Those who followed the tournament will not need to be reminded of what happened. Wales squeaked to a 2-1 win over Slovakia in the opening group game but, next time out, lost heartbreakingly to England in injury time by the same scoreline.

Manager Coleman took his players out for burgers and chips after that game to get over the defeat and put themselves in the right mindset for Russia. It was something that certainly paid off, Wales demolishing their opponents 3-0 to top the group.

“Before the Russia game Gareth Bale said to go out there and enjoy it, because if we did that we would play well and if we play well no one can live with us,” Williams remembered.

Northern Ireland and, most memorably, Belgium, found that out to their cost. And the disappointment which emerged from the defeat to Portugal was tempered by the sense of pride in what had been achieved.

“The boys really are mates and I think it makes things easier when everyone gets along so well,” Williams added.

“And it’s nice to be able to put it down on canvas and try to recreate that feeling of togetherness we had out in France.”